Ideologies and situational threats mutually reinforce each other in producing perceived competition

Evidence

In addition, as illustrated by the reciprocal arrows between these elements in figure 14.1, ideologies and situational factors that promote perceived group competition may be mutually reinforcing so that the ideologies heighten sensitivity to situational factors, and the situational factors reinforce and strengthen the ideologies. For example, right-wing authoritarians are particularly sensitive to perceived threats to their values (Esses et al., 1993), and conversely, national threat and uncertainty have been shown to lead to increased expressions of authoritarianism (Altemeyer, 1996; Doty, Peterson, & Winter, 1991). — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1506